Environment
Car Exhaust Hurts Children as Much as Second-Hand Smoke
European researchers believe 14 percent of chronic childhood asthma can be blamed on living near busy roads.
Having your children live near a busy highway is kind of like keeping them penned in the smoking area of a Greyhound bus station, according to a new study.
European researchers applied a statistical technique known as "population-attributable fractions" to existing data to root out how much childhood asthma can be blamed on heavy traffic. Their conclusion: 14 percent of chronic asthma in kids is caused by car exhaust, which falls into the 4 to 18 percent bracket of childhood asthma cases resulting from exposure to second-hand smoke, as per World Health Organization estimates.